Jo
A jo is a stick, generally made of Japanese white or red oak,
about 120 cm in length. It should be the height of the floor
to your armpit.
Jodo is "the way of the staff", a modernized form of stick
combat, based upon Shinto Muso-ryu jojutsu a Japanese art dating
back almost 400 years. The use of the staff in the present
fashion is attributed to a master swordsman, Gonnosuke Katsukichi,
in the early 1600s. There were, however, wooden staff arts
before his time. The rokushaku bo (six-foot staff) was, for
instance, used a number of schools. A tessenbo was used
by warriors centuries before the jo came into
existence. A tessenbo is a hard wooden staff of a taped
length and a hexagonal cross-section that has been reinforced with
iron.
Of course, historically, the jo focused on the opponent being a
swordsman and many of the methods of jodo are formulated on this
premise. The jo is not so much a practical weapon in modern
times - not as practical as the smaller siblings of hanbo and
tanbo. Nevertheless, there are some important lessons to be
learned from practicing with the jo. With its focus on self
defence and combat, TJR focuses on these imperatives rather than
the focus that koryu forms might apply.